Hey NYC, you are just plain wrong to do that to a vegetarian friend. what kind of friend are you? Would you apply the same rule to one who was allergic to nuts? If you know your friends are vegetarian, it is just wrong to serve them something w/ a meat product and try to mislead. Omitting the truth is the same as lying. And I am NOT a vegetarian, but have served dinners to vegans and meat eaters at the same meal and felt it was my obligation as cook and host to not even use the same wooden spoon when stirring the veg. dish and the meat dish. Hey, NY is a tough town, I live here too, but that is just immoral!

Stop picking these things apart. Try them and like them, or don't like them. It's a "recipe." If your a cook, you'll do what you will with it. Why complain? Make additions, make subtractions. TASTE IT.CHANGE IT. Enjoy it the way it is. Come on. You enjoy cooking and or eating don't you?? Isn't that what this site is really all about? I haven't tried this recipe, yet, but just once I'd like to see a "real" review.Taste,Texture, appearance...............Not a pick it apart column.

I live where there is little food variety; even my local stores carry vegetable stock and/or bullion. Both canned and dried variety. Although I'd probably sub mushroom broth also. A good cook knows how to improvise.